Parents of Children Pin Traders Beware

[CarolA]

I have seen the "sharks" take advantage of kids and parents who don't know better. (I have stepped in on more then one occassion to tell the parent. "that pin your child has is a LE and the trader is ripping you off") I don't mind if they know (They could be like me and just don't care anymore), but I know some "sharks" are planning to ebay the extras.

If your kids see me and are nice they will probably just get a free pin. Due to the "sharks" and other non-Disney moments associated with pin trading I am dumping most of my collection one pin at a time on kids around the park.

 

[Dan Murphy]

.....If your kids see me and are nice they will probably just get a free pin...

Big kids too, Carol?

 

[canwegosoon]

I have seen the "sharks" take advantage of kids and parents who don't know better. (I have stepped in on more then one occassion to tell the parent. "that pin your child has is a LE and the trader is ripping you off") I don't mind if they know (They could be like me and just don't care anymore), but I know some "sharks" are planning to ebay the extras.

If your kids see me and are nice they will probably just get a free pin. Due to the "sharks" and other non-Disney moments associated with pin trading I am dumping most of my collection one pin at a time on kids around the park.

Carol That is such a nice thing... but agree some(not all or even most) people are taking the fun out of it. I know my kids have traded really good CM or LE for pins they like and that is the point of it-trading for the likes and not being scammed.

 

[canwegosoon]

Big kids too, Carol?

Dan you are already nice, so you have to trade like the rest of us!!!!

 

[canwegosoon]

The other funny thing is the "pin traders " in DTD who come with their books of inventory and want you to trade their 6 dollar trader for 30-40 dollars worth of pins(go in and buy them for me)...but at least they are upfront and not approaching children. I have no problem with them.

 

[krismom]

we had an opposite experience on our last trip... at the Contemporary, while waiting for Chef Mickey's- my DD spotted a Kermit the frog pin on someones lapel and asked me if she could trade for it. (I have a "CM's only" rule about trading.) Anyway, I told her she could ask- the woman was so kind and kept insisting that the one DD wanted to give her was worth way more than the Kermit! Even after the explanation, DD couldn't find a different one she wanted to trade so the woman gave her 2! Just goes to show you there are usually, hopefully, more good people than bad.
I'm so glad the CM at Guest Services made up for the bad trade though!

 

[TiggerPiglet]

Ok, with all of this scamming talk, I checked my kids' pins and my one DD has a pin that on the back it says DISNEY CHINA. Is this an authentic pin? There are no Mickey ears on it. Just to add, she has only traded with CM's.

 

[wcduke]

The other funny thing is the "pin traders " in DTD who come with their books of inventory and want you to trade their 6 dollar trader for 30-40 dollars worth of pins(go in and buy them for me)...but at least they are upfront and not approaching children. I have no problem with them.

My young kids are avid pin traders, and I certainly don't want them (or me, since I sometimes trade for them) to get scammed. So can you give more details about this comment? What exactly happens outside of the DTD pin trading store?

 

[canwegosoon]

Ok, with all of this scamming talk, I checked my kids' pins and my one DD has a pin that on the back it says DISNEY CHINA. Is this an authentic pin? There are no Mickey ears on it. Just to add, she has only traded with CM's.

To me no that is not a scam ...it is a valid Disney pin(even the Samedesa sp Spanish or china or even Disney Auction pins are fine) the pins I am talking about have no disney marking on them at all. There are different quality (where they are made/what they are made of) and different value based on LE or CM or even size and stacking or sliding. I tend not to make a big deal about that if my kids see something they trade, for a Disney pin and if they change their mind about it later they trade again.

 

[bunnysmum]

My young kids are avid pin traders, and I certainly don't want them (or me, since I sometimes trade for them) to get scammed. So can you give more details about this comment? What exactly happens outside of the DTD pin trading store?

yeah, I'd like to know too, more details, please!

 

[canwegosoon]

yeah, I'd like to know too, more details, please!

Let me first post a similar(although this pic is way nicer) a pic of 1 of the 2 pins my boys got (and their pin did not have the American Flag in it)

You can see (to an adult that this is not a disney pin)...real easy for adults to see.


#2 as far as the pin traders outside the DTD store, they are at the umbrella tables right next to one of the pin stores. There are usually some men(but they can be young or old- and there might be some women too) with Books of pins....usually they have 2-5 books to trade. On my last trip, out of curiousity I wanted to see if I could trade for this Mrs. Incredibles pin that my son wanted....this guy had it. So I said ok what do you want to trade for it- he said to me..."go in and buy me 30-40 in pins and I will trade it"...I said no, and walked away. But while I was talking to him, out came another man with pins in a bag and gave it to this guy and he gave him a pin (think of this type of trader as a business trader). This is the pin I am talking about

Before anyone goes crazy, this guy as I said did not approach me, I approached him. The pin I am looking for is a little hard to find, but not impossible. If you are a pin collector, and looking for a very specific pin, you might have to deal with these guys. They are not Disney CM's or employees in anyway associated with Disney.

Now there might also be other non-business traders, regular people who want to trade there too, so you have to be aware. But in my 4 years of pin trading there have only been 2 problems and this past trip was one. I am very happy with 99.999999% of my pins and my boys trades.

 

[bytheblood]

........ as far as the pin traders outside the DTD store, they are at the umbrella tables right next to one of the pin stores. There are usually some men(but they can be young or old- and there might be some women too) with Books of pins....usually they have 2-5 books to trade. On my last trip, out of curiousity I wanted to see if I could trade for this Mrs. Incredibles pin that my son wanted....this guy had it. So I said ok what do you want to trade for it- he said to me..."go in and buy me 30-40 in pins and I will trade it"...I said no, and walked away. But while I was talking to him, out came another man with pins in a bag and gave it to this guy and he gave him a pin (think of this type of trader as a business trader). .

Before anyone goes crazy, this guy as I said did not approach me, I approached him. The pin I am looking for is a little hard to find, but not impossible. If you are a pin collector, and looking for a very specific pin, you might have to deal with these guys. They are not Disney CM's or employees in anyway associated with Disney.

Now there might also be other non-business traders, regular people who want to trade there too, so you have to be aware. But in my 4 years of pin trading there have only been 2 problems and this past trip was one. I am very happy with 99.999999% of my pins and my boys trades.

I am sure WDW employees are aware of this...but considering that the men are not approaching people, they probably feel like if people are willing to spend $280 for one pin, that is their issue.

Scamming is something totally different.

 

[wcduke]

#2 as far as the pin traders outside the DTD store, they are at the umbrella tables right next to one of the pin stores. There are usually some men(but they can be young or old- and there might be some women too) with Books of pins....usually they have 2-5 books to trade. On my last trip, out of curiousity I wanted to see if I could trade for this Mrs. Incredibles pin that my son wanted....this guy had it. So I said ok what do you want to trade for it- he said to me..."go in and buy me 30-40 in pins and I will trade it"...I said no, and walked away. But while I was talking to him, out came another man with pins in a bag and gave it to this guy and he gave him a pin (think of this type of trader as a business trader).

So, in essence, you are buying the pin you seek for $30-$40. Thanks for answering!

 

[TiggerPiglet]

To me no that is not a scam ...it is a valid Disney pin(even the Samedesa sp Spanish or china or even Disney Auction pins are fine) the pins I am talking about have no disney marking on them at all. There are different quality (where they are made/what they are made of) and different value based on LE or CM or even size and stacking or sliding. I tend not to make a big deal about that if my kids see something they trade, for a Disney pin and if they change their mind about it later they trade again.

Thanks. I wasn't sure what constituted on "official" Disney pin. I thought it had to have the ears on them.

 

[Stitchfans]

DD usually only trades with CMs too. Just one time a boy approached her just before Illuminations. they started talking and she discovered he lived a few towns away from us. They traded pins but the one he gave her was good.

 

[bytheblood]

True and I wouldn't give my kids a $5 bill to trade. But alot of us don't trade or collect pins because of their "value" and if you care about the value, you shouldn't be pin trading and certainly shouldn't be giving your kids pins to trade (God forbid). But if you do it for the love of trading and the kids are happy with what they traded for then who cares???

We did a grab bag at christmas with my neices and nephews. One of my kids got a $50 gift card for Game Stop but traded it with my nephew for a $30 iDog because she does not have any video game counsols at home. Should I report my nephew as a "scammer"? My daughter loves the iDog and was happy with the trade so who cares??

I did re-read the post and I don't disagree that this person is upset and it sounds like the other kids DID in fact have a motive to try to rip off her two boys. To that I say be more careful next time but if the kids love to pin trade, I would not stop pin trading with other kids.

I disagree that the OP is overreacting. She was kind enough to post the situation to help other parents and their children.

The Christmas situation you described is not the same. That is an apple to oranges comparison. I would have allowed my child to do the same.

I think you are still missing the point! Value or not, (which is not what this is about) IT IS NOT a Disney pin. It is some cheap 100 FOR $5 "welcome to mexico" stick pin that you could probably get out of a gumball machine. Rules are rules. Disney pin for a Disney pin. My daughter has traded a $13 pin for a $7 pin and that was okay because it is what she wanted, but it was a Disney pin. Not some cheap piece of tin.

In addition, the simple fact is that the father knew he was doing wrong because in both of the accounts mentioned, he stepped in and asked if there was a problem and took off when confronted. Why?

• Because it was messing with his money and he knew there was a problem.
• He suggested leaving it up to the kids and did not want the parents involvement.
• He wanted his kids to pick the trading pin they wanted as well as having his kids pick the pin they were willing to trade.

If it looks like a scam, works like a scam and acts like a scam - it is a scam.

 

[CarolA]

Big kids too, Carol?

Anything for you Dan!

When will you be there!

 

[Jules224]

I have just quickly read through some of the replies on this topic and am now a little worried, we are going in just over a couple of weeks time, my DD has bought a lanyard and her Nan has bought her some pins over here in England, i have no idea where she got them from as this is all new to me so how can i tell if they are ok to trade and if there not would i be better off not letting my DD wear them on her Lanyard, just incase somebody wants to trade with her and it's not a disney one? Hope this makes sense.

 

[bevgray]

Just to let the casual and new pin traders know, the Mickey Pin Trading Ear logo has only been put on the "official Disney pins" for a few years. There are many older Park and Disney Store pins that do not have the logo, but are just marked with the Disney copyright. Sadly, not all Cast Members are pin collectors themselves and know little about it. I have seen many counterfeit or cheaper pins (such as the Sedesma) on Cast Lanyards that the Cast Member has traded for unknowingly.

If you are interested in learning more about pin collecting/trading for yourself or your children, check out the collectors board here on the DIS. There are many veteran pin traders there that can answer your questions.

 

[KerriSue]

A little OT but still about pin trading.

We were in Disney Paris a couple of years ago and my DH, DS and DD discovered pin trading. Now since this was all new to us we bought the starter set and then proceded to spend a small fortune at every pin shop at the resort. So here we were sitting with our fresh purchases not even out of the bag yet and walks over this lady--Wanna trade. Oh, thats nice, I will give you this one for that one. My kids were 9 and 6, give them a break. I just thought it was poor taste to accost us to trade with our bag fresh from the store.

Anyway, thanks for the headsup! Nothing irritates me more than my children getting the raw end of anything.

Kerri